Life-boat.



PATENTED NOV. 12, 1907.'

R. A. BROWN.

LIFE BOAT.

APPLIOATION PILED MAR. 9. 1907.

8 SHBETS-SHEET 2.

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v No. 870,928.

PATENTBD NOV. 12, 1907.

R. A. BROWN.

LIFE BOAT.

APP'LIOATION FILBD MAR. 9. 1907.

8 SHBETS-SHEET 8.

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ROBERT A. BROWN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LIFE -B OAT.

Specifieaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 12, 1907.

Application filed March 9. 1907- Serial No. 361 .434.

To all lwhom lit may concem: A

Be it known that I, RoBER'r A. BnowN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented Icertain new and useful lmprovements in Life-Boats,

of which the following is a specification.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved construction for life boats of the type shown 'and described in my Patents No. 748,919, January 4,

1904,* No. 776,64], December G, 1904; and No. 812,815, February 20, 1906, in which an inner car, journaled on a longitudi'nal axis Within an outer closed hull, is adapted to remain norlnally in equilibrium regardless of the rolling of the outer hull: to provide an improved life boat of this character in which water ballast may be used for maintaining the cquilibrium of the outer hull while perrnitting of the use of a relatively large inner car and providing a correspondingly large passenger capacity with a minimurn height of the outer hull; to provide an arrangement of water ballast compartment which when emptied of water and filled with air will form a valuable addition to the buoyancy of the passenger car in keeping the vessel afloat even after the outer hull is punctured; and to provide an improved arrangement of the interior of a life boat of this kind whereby the mechanism for controlling the same may all be with in the reach of a single operator. These objects are accomplished by the device shown in the accornpanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a life boat constructed according to this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same on a larger scale, the middle part being broken away. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement of the gears eonnecting the manually driven and power' driven mechanisms, the gears being indicated by their pitch lines and the transverse contour of the hull being indicated by dotted lines to show the relative positions of the gears therein.

In the construction shown in the drawings, the shcll of the outer hull is substantially cigar-shaped in form, being of substantially uniform transverse section throughout the greater part of its length and pointed at its forward end. The hull is provided with a keel 2 extending throughout the greater part of its length.

The passenger compartment occupies the greater part of the interior of the boat. The rearward compartment 3 contains the propelling machinery and is also provided with a turret 4 extending above the deck so that the helmsman may have au unobstructed range of vision. Forward of the passenger compartment is a l l l l Storage space and toilet room; this space also contains the winch 5 by means of which the boat ishandlcd whcr being lowered from the deck of the vossei.

The boat is driven by twin screws 6 which arc mountcd upon propellor shafts 7, substantially parallel to cach other but prefcrably inclincd downwardly and rcar- Wardly. The power motor 8 is prcforably an iiucrnal combustion engine and its main shafl, is horimnlal and provided with a gear having spiral tceth mcshing with corresponding spiral teeth on the gcars 10 of the propeller shafts. A gcar 11, mountcd on a shaft journalcd above the gear 9, is also provided wilh spiral Lccth to lncsh with those on the gcar 9. This shafl, is provided with a fly-whccl '12 and is conncctcd by gcars 13 and ]=l with a crank shaft 15 which may bo roiafcd hy cl'anks 16 adaptcd tobe opcratcd by persons in one of the passcnger cars. The cars are provided with means indicated at 40 for looking them against rolaiion with respect to the outer hull when dcsirod. clutch 17 perinits the crank 16 to bo thrown info or out of service and a clutch 18 which is partly hiddon from vicw in Fig. 2 by the bearing of the shal't 7 pcrmits thcnunor to be thrown into or out of connection with the goal' 9. The fly-Wheel 12 is so located that it stcadics the oporation of the propellcr-whecls both when driven by the motor 8 and when driven by the cranksl 10.

A seat 19 for the hellnsman is mountcd upon a platform 20 above the motor 8. The stccring-whccl is indicat'ed at 21. The middle or passengcr comparlmont 22 of the hull is provided with one or more cars 23 which are journaled in axial alinomont and mounted to rotate freely about au axis disposod longitudinally with respect to the outer' hull. Two such cars are indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l of the drawings. 'J`ho cars 23 are mounted on trunnions 24 carried by uprights 25. Each car 23 is prcfcrably consfructcd of shoet metal and is water-Light so that it will assist in keeping the vcssel alloat in case of puncfurc of the outer hull.

The outer shell of the hull is comparalivoly (la t at the bottom and is so formcd as to provide a considcrablc space 27 at each side of the cars 23. These spaces aro inclosed by an inncr shcll 28 which is water-Light so that the compartmcuts 27 may be used cithcr for water ballast or for air as conditions may require. 'l'he walcr in the compartmont 27 may be forccd out by air undor pressure as is commonly done in the ballast comp-artments of other forms of vcsscls. 'l`hc ballast compartments may also be subdividod by transvcrsc watertight partitions, not shown, so that damago to the shcll will only affect the part of the tank in the immediate vicinity of the puncture. The valves and mechanism for controlling the inflow and outfiow of water and air from the compartments 27 are not shown in the drawings and may be of any usual form.

lt is preferred to'have the inner edges of each of the compartments 27 spaced away from the middle of the hull so as to permit the car to be hung as low as possible. The inner walls 29 of the compartments 27 are upright and serve as keelsons to give longitudinal stiffness to the bottom of the hull. The upper Walls 30 of said compartinent perform a similar function for the sides of the hull. In addition to the longitudinal stiffening mombcrs 29 and 30, the hull is stiffened longitudinally by the keel 2 and the longitudinal stringers 31 and 32.

The stringer bars 3l also form a convenient means for suspending life lines 33 along each side of the hull. Lavlders 34 lead up from the stringer bars 31 to the top of the hull. The hull is entered through a hatch 35 in the deck. An observation turret 36 is also provided at the forward end of the hull. Railings37 extend along the sides of the deck and a ladder 38 extends from the deck down to the hoisting-eye 39 at the bow. A corresponding eye 40, Fig. l, is provided at the stern.

The device is operated as lollows: Passengers enter the boat through the hatch 35. After the boat is launched7 the hatch is sealed up and the cars released. The cars then remain in equilibrium regardless of the rolling of the outer hull. Hhe boat is then controlled by one man stationed in the rearward coinpartment where he can easily control the engine from his position at the steoring-wheel. ln case of break-down of the engine, the rearward car may be locked against rotaA tion, and the propellers may then be driven hy means ot the cranks. Under normal conditions the ballast tanks 27 are kept full of water so as to give the boat ample draft and hold it steady in the water. If through accident to the outer hull the boat leaks badly, then the Water may be forced out of such ballast coinpartments as are intaet and the buoyancy of such compartments utilized to assist that of the innel` cars in l l l and at each side of its axis than at intermediate keepng the vessel afloat and preventing water from reaching the interior of the cars.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'.

1. A life boat comprising a closed outer shell, a car journaled within said shell on an axis disposed longitudinally of said shell and being free to rotate with respect to the outershell, said outer shell being of non-circular transverse section below the axis of said car and being closer to said car at each side of the axis thereof and near the middle of the bottom than at intermediate points, and ballast compartments formed at each side of the middle in the space between the car and hull, the inner surfaces of said compartments being of substantially circular transverse section and concentric with the axis of said car and said compartments being spaced apart to allow the car to hang' close to the outer hull between them.

2. A life boat comprising a substantial cigar-shaped outer hull, a car Within the hull and relatively rotatable therein on an axis disposed longitudinally of the hull, the bottom of said hull being of non-circular transverse section, beingI i'lat inlthe middle and sharply turned at each side to meet the sides of the hull, and a separate closed water-tight compartment formed in said hull at each side of said car below the axis thereof, the inner W'alls of said compartments being close to and conoentric with the path of said car and said` compartinents being spaced apart to allow the car to hang close to the outer' hull between them.

3. A life boat, comprising a closed outer sheet metal hull of ovate transverse section, a car within the hull an'd relatively rotatable therein on an axis disposed longitudinally of the hull, the bottom of said car being` of-substantially circular transverse section, the bottom of the hull being closer to said car at the middle of its bottom points, water-tight ballast compartments forme'd Within the hull at eaclrside of the middle of its bottom, and arranged to give longitudinal stiffness to said bottom, the shell of the hull being close to the path of the car above the axis thereof, and longitudinal stiffening members secured outside of the hull at points above the axis of the car.

Signed at Chicago this Tth day of March 1907.

ROBERT A. BROWN.

Witnesses Fnmcin S'rnnrcntmss, E. A. RUMMLER. 

